VALLEY VOICE

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM AROUND THE ARO VALLEY - DECEMBER 2013
TE REO HAPORI O WAI MAPI HI
NZTA fronts up to meetings about road widening
L-R: Valley residents Alan Fairless, Cosmo (dog),
Jadwyn Lowe (AVCC), and Christmas tree committee
members, Rachael Grifths (pre-school rep) and
Jaqui Tutt (AVCC rep). Not pictured: Sarah Paterson
(Te Aro School rep), David Ball (Christmas Tree
Coordinator)
Christmas trees raise community funds
The annual Aro
Valley Christmas
tree fundraiser,
selling trees out of
the bunker at the
back of the Aro
Valley Community
Centre supports the
work of three key
local organisations:
Te Aro School,
Aro Valley Pre-
School, and the Aro
Valley Community
Council. Its open for
business every week
day 3.30pm - 6.30pm
and weekends
10am - 6pm, until
23 December. Trees
come in every
height, shape and
size, and deliveries
are available.
Volunteers please
Contact: 04 384 6681
or [email protected]
NZTA Memorial Park Alliance
Project Manager Duncan
Kenderdine (pictured) and Trafc
Engineer Richard Galloway fronted
up to two public meetings at the
Aro Community Hall on 31 October
and 3 December to discuss recent
developments at the intersections
of Karo Drive with Abel Smith
Street, Willis Street and Victoria
Street.
The meetings followed commencement
of work to widen Karo Drive, Willis
and Victoria Streets without any direct
communication with local business
owners, residents, pedestrians or cyclists.
The roading representatives took away
a list of questions from residents and
business owners to return with answers
at the following meeting. Some requests
could not be answered.
Yellow cross hatching on Willis Street,
to allow space for trafc to enter and
exit Palmer Street was ruled out for now,
on grounds that it would hold up trafc
on upper Willis, but NZTA promises to
continue monitoring the intersection after
the fourth lane is added, with a view to
possible future modication. Likewise, a
diagonal phase for pedestrians wishing
to cross Willis Street from one corner
of Abel Smith Street to the other in a
single phase, was promised for future
consideration only.
Some of the concerns of cyclists were
addressed, with additional stop boxes
included in revised designs for both the
Victoria and Willis Street intersections
with Karo Drive.
Questions about the status of NZTA-
owned property in the area, the lack of
community consultation and the effects
of the new roading arrangements on
waiting times for pedestrians and local
trafc were also discussed.
A third meeting is promised for
February. Watch for notices.
To request a copy of NZTAs
presentation to the 3 December meeting
at Aro Hall, contact: richard.galloway@
memorialpark.co.nz

2

NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013
te Aro to install and manage
community compost bins on
Epuni Street for six months.
The Wellington City Council is
really interested , AVCC and
Kai o te Aro member Charles
Barrie said, and discussions
are ongoing.
Living Wage
The AVCC discussed the Living
Wage campaign, which is
arguing that workers should
be paid $18.40 an hour, as that
is what they need to live on,
rather than the minimum wage
of $13.75. Not all AVCC staff are
currently receiving the living
wage. Treasurer Mattie Timmer
will look into the cost of paying
this to all employees, and the
committee will then consider
its support for the wider
campaign. It will also invite
Living Wage Aotearoa to give a
talk in the community centre.
like Valley Voice advertising
and grant applications.
Community co-ordinator Kelvin
Aris said he was talking with
community education group
Chalkle about hosting more
of its meetings at the hall.
The committee also agreed to
increase the bond charged for
parties at the hall to $500 after
a door and toilet were damaged
at a recent party.
Constitution
Following the recent meeting
on the AVCCs constitution, the
committee agreed to set up a
small working group next year
to consider how to act on the
communitys suggestions.
Composting
The AVCC is acting as an
umbrella organisation for a
funding proposal from Kai o
**********************
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Aro Valley
Community
Council news
AVCC nances
AVCC treasurer Mattie Timmer
has encouraged the committee
to get more money out of its
hall hire, as revenue from it
has fallen recently. This was
due to fewer hires and more
non-paying users. While
the hall had to be as open
to the community as much
as possible, for the AVCC to
break even each year it needed
around $30,000 in addition to
its city council grants, and the
hall had a big part to play in
that, Timmer said. If the AVCC
continued at current levels it
would dip into its reserves in
about half a year , he said,
suggesting the AVCC should be
more aggressive on matters
A meeting in Aro Hall in late
November discussed the Aro
Valley Community Council
(AVCC) constitution in some
depth. Members analysed the
history of the AVCC and the
reasons for its becoming an
incorporated society.
AVCC co-chair Roland Sapsford noted
that the Law Commission have proposed
changes to the requirements for incorpo-
rated societies, including how societies
handle disputes, remove ofcers and
members, and interact with government.
However, it was very early days yet
in this reform process, he said.
Members then put forward a list of
issues that should be addressed in any
review of the current constitution. These
included: clarifying who interprets the
constitution, the reasons for having a
constitution in the rst place, dening
who is a member of the AVCC, which
sources of funding the AVCC should
accept, how the AVCC makes decisions
and resolves disputes, how the AVCC
provides umbrella support for other
organisations, how the AVCC is meeting
bicultural obligations, how the AVCC
resolves the priority of its objectives,
how the AVCC engages with the wider
community and seeks their opinions, the
AVCCs employment and governance
objectives, provisions for communication
and transparency and reporting to
constituents, and the process for
requesting agenda items and motions for
general meetings.
Members also listed areas where
they felt the current constitutional
requirements were not being met,
including: membership rights, the
meaning of representing the views
and interests of the community, the
election of meeting chairs other than
the co-chairs, the use of consensus, the
committees power as the governance
body between general meetings, the
way that the committees powers
are bestowed, the making of rules
and regulations between meetings,
notication of general meetings, the
meaning of urgent general business, and
recording.
Sapsford said the committee would
note the areas and issues listed and
then as a committee work out what we
do next. That might involve setting up
a subgroup to look at the constitution,
he said. This isnt urgent but it is
important.
Committee discusses constitution
LETTER OF THANKS
Ng mihi nui Valley Voice,
Im just writing to say that Aro Valley
people are awesome. A nice lady called
Chrissie, round the corner from our
house, found my wallet under our car
tonight, knocked on doors (in the rain!)
to try and nd me, then phoned my bank,
all before Id even noticed the wallet was
missing. I gave her cake, but now Im
writing to the Valley Voice to give her
props, too. She really made my day.
Noho ora mai r i roto i ng manaaki-
tanga katoa. Melissa Bryant
**********************
NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013 3
A massive day of table tennis
was held November 2nd at the
Aro Valley Hall.
Mr Liam Johnston of Abel Smith Street
was the winner taking home the Ben
Raikes Trophy for 2013, beating a very
competitive and well-dressed eld of 40
athletes.
Thanks to our wonderful local sponsors
Aro cafe, Vinnies Epuni St, Aro Video,
Mechanical Tempest, Mr Ron Barber,
Patels Supermarket, Aro Hair Design,
Skin Focus, Dirt Merchants, Karma Cola
and the Garage Project - top level ping
pong is thirsty work.
$220 was raised for the Aro valley table
tennis club and 3 tables and equipment
have been generously donated.
Thanks Seth Hickling, and Jenny
from the Hataitai Community Centre,
Tom Table tennis, Rob Mayo, Solid
Aro Valley Open 2013
Gold Sound System, DJs Kelvinator
and Steve the ska man, MC Stevie T of
Levina Ave and all competitors, match
ofcials and scrutineers. Table Tennis
continues every Wednesday at the Hall
8-10pm. $3 gets you a spot at the table.
The Aro Valley Community
Centre could generate almost
all its power from the sun if
a plan to install solar panels
goes ahead.
The Aro Valley Community Council
(AVCC) committee is supporting a plan
by young environmentalists Generation
Zero to install six solar photo-voltaic
panels on the roof of either the hall or the
pre-school.
The cost of up to $8,000 would be met
half by the Wellington City Council
and half by funding sourced from the
public, according to Louise Sherrel from
Generation Zero. The panels would
generate all the main halls energy for
nine months of the year and around half
of it for the remaining three months.
Generation Zero is hoping to encourage
community councils around the country
to adopt this approach. We think there
is incredible potential for this model,
Sherrel said.
Sherrel will now meet with city council
ofcials to explore how the plan could
be developed, and may apply for city
council funding early next year. If
that was successful, a crowd-funding
campaign would then be launched.
AVCC committee members raised
concerns about the ongoing maintenance
costs of the solar panels and who would
own them, but supported the idea in
principle.
Workers available for gardening and section maintenance
022 137 6715 or 934 8516 [email protected] (text or email preferred)
Energetic, and not so young, local workers with a range of skills and tools seeking small or big jobs
Section clearing
Slip clearing
Weed elimination, (especially old- mans-beard and ginger control)
Garden bed care and general gardening
Edge and hedge trimming
Pruning
Tree trimming and felling
Chimney demolition
Gutter cleaning
House and window washing
Trailer loads to the tip
Painting
Fencing
Firewood and kindling
We can create outdoor braziers, BBQs, wooden compost bins, planters, and furniture to suit your environment and
needs. We have a trailer, weedeaters, scrub bar, lawnmower, chainsaws, skill saws, wheel barrows, fadges and bags
and a range of hand tools. We can provide advice on permaculture and landscaping for your location. You can trust us
to deal with the tough stuff as well as jobs that need special care! We should be able to respond within 48 hours and
are interested in repeating and/or ongoing contracts. Fee by arrangement. References available.
Aro backs
solar
panel plan
Resource consent sought for
new Brooklyn wind turbine
Meridian Energy have applied for
resource consent to remove the existing
45-metre high turbine in Brooklyn
and construct a new turbine with a
height of up to 77 metres (from ground
to blade tip). The consent includes a
new interpretive centre, access and
landscaped areas.
Public submissions by 4.00pm,
14 January 2014
More info: http://wellington.govt.nz/
have-your-say/public-input/public-
inputs/public-notices/open/resource-
consent---brooklyn-wind-turbine

Photo: Bobby Semau

4

NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013
Grant ROBERTSON
Labour MP for WeIIinQton CentraI
For appointmnts ano aovic:
Elctorat Oc
22C Villis Strt
P +64 4 8C 8C79
ocgrantrobrtson.co.nz
grantrobertson.co.nz
Gran
Lab
Former Holloway Road resident
and Wellington City councillor
Stephanie Cook got a surprise
farewell party from grateful
locals thanking her for 18
years service on the city
council.
Cook, who is shifting up the coast, was
moved to tears by the party, at the Aro
community centre. During the speeches,
her fellow councillors and locals thanked
her for her hard work on behalf of the
valley and the rest of the city. The party
also involved some spectacular lighting
effects provided free of charge by Dar-
rell Smith. To contact Darrell about his
party lighting service can email him at
[email protected].
Photo: Lisa Thompson
Stephanies
Suprise!
Kia ora koutou,
Weve been making great progress up at
the orchard site beside 225 Aro St. Our
garlic crop is coming along well we
might have some to share at the fair
and weve really got stuck into building
our raised beds.
Commonsense Organics gave us a
big stack of timber pallets and we have
been cutting these up for the frames
of the beds, which are then lined with
coreute to keep the soil in, serve as
a weed barrier and help the timber
last longer. Once the frames were
completed, we lled them with a brew
of our homemade compost, wood mulch
(thanks WCC), sheep dags (thanks
Micky Stevens!) and both coffee grounds
and husks (thanks Linda Beatson!!).
Finally we covered the new beds with
coffee sacks, and well do our best to
keep them moist while they break down
in preparation for our autumn planting.
We seem to have conquered the rat
problem for now too, thanks to a new
lining of core ute around the bins and
a little trapping. We caught two rats, but
have removed our traps for now and are
going back to the drawing board on this,
as we want to ensure this is done safely.
Weve had some great new energy in
the group recently, and 2014 looks like
its going to be a good year for Kai o te
Aro. We have been doing some good
work on how we manage ourselves and
are trying to make more use of online
tools to keep track of decisions and
information.
The last garden day for the year will
be Saturday December 14th from 10am
at the orchard please come along and
say hi. Well be kicking back off with
our fortnightly garden days sometime
in January keep an eye out for signs
around the community centre in the new
year for the conrmed date.
As always if you want to get hold of
us, you can email arogardener@gmail.
com, nd us on nd our group page
on facebook, or leave a message at the
community centre. Mauri ora, Charles.
Aspiring 16 year-old author,
Robert Wainwright, has just
published his rst book, The
Talisman of Vim, which is the
rst book in the trilogy, The
Chronicles of Wick. The book
was launched at the Aro Valley
Community Hall on Sunday
afternoon in front of 100 family
and friends.
Robert has been writing since he was
seven and has always had a love of
words. The book has been in the making
for nearly 3 years.
Robert is an Aro Valleyite who went
to Aro Valley Pre-school and Te Aro
School. In his younger years you might
have tasted delicious treats from his
baking stalls at Aro Fairs and in the park
after school. More recently he can be
spotted doing his paper run in Aro St and
working at Haya cafe or juicing organic
juice at the Hill St Markets on Saturday
mornings. His ambition is to be a
successful, well-known author. Check
out his Facebook page: Talisman of Vim
If youd like a signed copy for
$20 contact Robert through
[email protected]. Its
also available at the Rona Gallery
and Bookshop in Eastbourne and The
Childrens Bookshop in Kilbirnie.
Author with vim
NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013 5
Give away vouchers
for Culture Vultures
Valley icon Aro St Video has
recently launched the Culture
Vulture Voucher a unique gift
voucher that the recipient can
redeem for either books, lms
or music at birds-of-a-feather
retailers Unity Books, Aro St
Video and Slow Boat Records.
Andrew from Aro St Video says: We
think its a fun, beautiful and entirely
practical gift, but its also relevant to a
wider cultural conversation. You could
say were killing three birds with one
stone.
The voucher taps into:
Books, Movies and Music the three
coolest things on the planet!
Local, Independent and Nostalgic
three treasured and endangered species
Three respected and long-established
brands of cultural retail
Three bricks-and-mortar businesses
surviving in a faceless brave new world
To celebrate the launch of the Culture
Vulture vouchers, Valley Voice has two
vouchers, each worth $25, to give away
to the rst two people to answer the trivia
question below.
Answers to [email protected] or
sent to Valley Voice via the community
centre.
Question: What famous Kiwi lm
had a scene lmed at the location
of the store at 97 Aro Street?
Elizabeth Plumridge continues
her survey of some of the more
than 100 names listed on the
World War I memorial at the
corner of Holloway Road and Aro
Street.
Kenneth James Taits military career is
a reminder of our very selective com-
memorations of the war of 1914-1918.
The emphasis on Gallipoli heroism and
the ANZAC legend as the birth of nation-
hood has overshadowed other battles
where New Zealanders fought and were
killed.
Kenneth was not a pupil of the
Mitchelltown School, but rather one of
the boys of the district remembered on
the Holloway Road memorial. His father
seems to have been a postmaster, and in
1897, when Kenneth would have been
only ve years old, the family was at
Otaki and later they lived in other rural
locations including Waipukurau.
But Kenneth seems to have struck out
early. By the time he was 16 he was
living in Wellington, probably in Taitville
the area of Aro Valley approached
through Entrance Street. In 1908,
Kenneth was a junior civil servant in the
Department of Labour, but he also tted
in study at Victoria University over the
next few years, perhaps to advance his
career. He was the sporty type, excelling
at cricket in the annual Christmas picnics
of the Department of Labour and playing
representative rugby for Victoria. He was
also a very keen military cadet and won
prizes for rie shooting.
It is perhaps not surprising that with
his interest in the territorials, Kenneth
enlisted promptly. War was declared
on 4 August 1914; Kenneth enlisted on
9 August and was sent overseas on 15
August on the rst, but perhaps least
remembered, of New Zealands military
exercises of World War One: the seizure
of Samoa.
In the event this turned out to be
a pushover: the Germans had only
20 special constables and troops, 50
ageing ries, and orders to surrender
if the British arrived. The journey
across the Pacic was potentially risky,
since the New Zealand troops were in
unarmed ships requisitioned from the
Union Steamship Company, whereas
the Germans had ve navy frigates
roaming the Pacic. But the passage was
uneventful, the troops landed peacefully,
and Samoa surrendered on 29 August.
Kenneth stayed only a few months and
on 15 April 1915 he was discharged
at his own request and returned to
Wellington.
But on 25 April 1915 the Gallipoli
catastrophe happened. It was suddenly
clear that vast numbers of men were
going to be needed to replace the dead
and wounded, and for New Zealand to
keep its commitment to the British War
Ofce. The Minister of Defence said
very large demands would be made
and he did not know how long this
demand would be kept up, but 16,000
men would be need within the year.
Kenneth Tait responded. On the 25 May
1915 he re-enlisted. This time he spent
a few months in training. In September
1915 he was promoted to sergeant, in
June he was made second lieutenant,
and on 16 July 1916 he was sent to
Palestine then to Egypt to serve with the
New Zealand Mounted Rie Brigade.
In September he was put in command
of the brigade, given other positions of
command and then sent to the Imperial
Training School at Zeitoun from January
to March 1917, to be promoted to
lieutenant. On the 11 November 1917
he was awarded the Military Cross, for
conspicuous gallantry and devotion to
duty. During an attack he led his troop
with great gallantry and skill over ground
exposed to heavy machine-gun re.
He showed magnicent leadership and
skill.
It was probably during this engagement
that Kenneth was wounded by gunshot
to the neck and throat, and the wounds
turned septic. They took some time
to heal but by 5 January 1918 he was
reported to be convalescing. Probably
sometime late in January or early
February 1918 he rejoined his brigade.
On 14 March he was promoted to
captain.
On 23 March 1918 Kenneth Tait was
killed in action.
Kenneth James Tait, 1892-1918:
hero of the forgotten wars
Andrew fromAro St Video says: We

6

NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013
Councillors are currently working hard
to get a draft budget for the city out by
Christmas. Priorities already indicated
as likely to be featured including a liv-
ing wage for council employees, better
cycle-ways, nancial mechanisms to help
owners of earthquake prone buildings, a
rental warrant of tness for housing and
so on. Strengthening the economy will
also continue to be a priority. You will
have a chance to say if we have got it
right after the Christmas break.
2014 promises to be a busy year with
trafc in the Valley being a top priority.
NZTA are still planning a second
Terrace tunnel and after the insult of the
expansion of the Bypass, we will need to
look very carefully at this proposal. Im
sure the Aro Fair will be a highlight and
some planning issues remain unresolved.
Work to restore Town Belt in the Valley
will hopefully commence next year as
well. I look forward to working with you
on these important issues in 2014.
Iona 384-3382/021-227-8509 or
[email protected]
What is happening with
our transport services?
Iona Pannett,
Lambton Ward councillor
Paul Bruce, Greater Wellington
Regional Councillor
The implementation of the Wellington
City Bus Review (WCBR) has been
delayed until approximately 2015, due
to current work being undertaken under
the newly legislated Public Transport
Operating Model (PTOM) and the
outcome of the Public Transport Spine
Study. PTOM is a new way of tendering
and contracting for public transport
services introduced as part of legislation
passed this year. The implementation of
the new network is linked in with the
drafting of the PTOM operating units and
the procurement process for these.
The Public Transport Spine Study
(PTSS) purpose is to recommend a
high capacity mode out to Newtown
and Kilbirne to improve reliability and
resolve the delays resulting from too
many individual buses running through
the Golden Mile. While services may not
directly be linked to the PTSS operation
the buses used in the network are
interlinked, and need to be to obtain the
best value for money for the fare payer
and rate payers.
The Bus Review was budgeted as a cost
neutral exercise, and it had to reduce
duplicated or under used services in
order to re-invest in other areas of the
city. It looked at the network as a whole
and only recommended changes that
were able to maintain the cost neutrality
for the ratepayers. GWRCs Council
has an annual budgeting process,
and I will be pushing for Council to
allocate additional funding for an earlier
implementation of some changes.
Those of you who are disadvantaged
by present arrangements, may like
to consider car share or car pooling
arrangements. GW has a website set up
for this purpose http://letscarpool.govt.
nz. Others may like to consider walking
and cycling - Wellington City Council
is now in the planning stages of a safe
cycle network throughout the city.
GWRC has undertaken extensive
public consultation. There were over 100
meetings with community representatives
and stakeholders on the Bus Review.
The PTSS consultation process has had
over 250 pieces of feedback, with oral
hearings concluded early this December.
Information on both these projects can
be viewed on the GWRCs website.
However, I would be very pleased to
receive your comments.
http://www.gw.govt.nz/buses/
http://www.gw.govt.nz/ptspinestudy/
[email protected]
0271 9370 | 04 972 8699
Looking forward
to 2014
NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013 7
Tuesday 21 January to Monday
3 February, 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Join us for epic summer
adventures for the last two
weeks of the school holidays.
Our not-for-prot community
programme has been running for over
thirty years.
We are busy putting together an
awesome programme of art, baking,
bikes, drums and adventure around
the Aro Valley and beyond!
The cost is $30 per child, or $28 per
child for multiple children in the same
family. Its $28 per child (at rate) if
you pay before the 14th January. If
you want to apply for Work & Income
support, please let us know.
Contact: [email protected].
Day Time Activity & Cost Contact
Monday 7.15 8.15am
Tai Chi Class
(Koha)
Lynsey
384 5520
6.00 8.00pm
Capoeira
($10 casual /$40 - 8 classes)
Bobby Semau
027 6961708
[email protected]
Tuesday 11.15 12.00pm
Sit and Be Fit
($3 per class)
Starts again February 2014
Kathy McConville
Contact AVCC 384 8499
community@arovalley.
org.nz
7.30 9.00pm
West Coast Fling Social
Dance Group
Experienced dancers only
Tim Goddard
021 207 5001
[email protected]
Wednesday 7.15 8.15am
Tai Chi Class
(Koha)
Lynsey
384 5520
4.00 5.00pm
Capoeira
music, rhythm and movement
class for kids of all ages (Koha)
Starts again February 2014
Kelvin Aris
384 8499
6.30 8.00pm
Starjam
Starts again February 2014
[email protected]
2l2 497l 02l 782 866
Thursday 6.00 7.00pm
Samba
Hillary Mitchell & Fabiola
Stevenson
Hillary Mitchell
[email protected]
021 230 8732
7.30 9.00pm
Yoshukai Karate ($10 a week
pay what you can aford.
Includes 2
nd
weekly class
Northland Community Centre)
Colin Berry
027 249 5342 475 9985
Friday 7.15 8.15am
Tai Chi Class
(Koha)
Lynsey
384 5520
Saturday 11.00 12.00pm
ZUMBA Fitness
($15/$10 with ID)
Rafael Ferrer 382 8232
www.cubanfusion.co.nz
1.00 3.00pm
(last Saturday of
the month)
Capoeira
Bobby Semau
027 696 1708
[email protected]
Sunday 9.30 2.30pm Forward in Faith
Shadreck Mamhute
[email protected]
021 244 6045
VALLEY VOICE
Editors: Max Rashbrooke & Tim
Bollinger
All contributions and feedback to:
[email protected]
or 022 694 0871
Valley Voice is published on behalf
of
Aro Valley Community Council
48 Aro St
Wellington
Opinions expressed in this newsletter
are those of the writers and not of
the Aro Valley Community Council
(AVCC) unless adopted at a general
meeting.
AVCC co-chairs 2013-14:
Roland Sapsford
Bridget Stocker
Secretary: Sarah Jane Parton
Treasurer: Mattie Timmer
Committee members:
Charles Barrie, Jo Brien, Jay
Buzenberg, Eileen Charman, Jadwyn
Lowe, Madeleine Rashbrooke, Julia
Stace, Kellar Taylor, Lisa Thompson,
Jaqui Tutt
Aro Valley Community Centre
Coordinator:
Kelvin Aris
[email protected]
(04) 384-8499
REGULAR HALL USERS
Aro Valley School
Holiday Summer Space
Programme is counting
down...
St Vinnies volunteer Sylvie Froncek
repaints a mannequin that was looking
a bit worse for wear
Aro Valley Community
Pre-school
FREE early childhood
education for 3 and 4 year
olds for up to 20 hours per
week
We cater for children 2 to 5
years old
Hours: Monday to Friday
8.30am to 2.30pm
$5.00 per hour for 2 year olds
and for 3 and 4 year olds using
more than 20 hours per week
Opening for 2014 - Monday
the 3rd of February
We have places available for
2014 !
Phone 384 5156
Email: [email protected].
nz
arovalleypreschool.blogspot.co.nz
Photo: Julia Brooke-White
Valley Voice is printed by

8

NEWS AND VI EWS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY DECEMBER 2013
Biking is wunderful! So
wunderful that we believe
everyone should have access
to a bicycle. That is why
we are creating Wellington
Wunderbike!
Wunderbike is a bike sharing programme
much like Bixi in Montreal, CaBi in
Washington D.C. or Velib' in Paris.
The programme will be run out of
the Aro Valley Community Centre.
Wellingtonians interested in borrowing a
bike to speed up errands, take a leisurely
ride along the harbour or go for a
weekend bike trip will be able to use the
bikes for free. To promote bike safety we
will provide riders with a helmet, lights
and a bike lock.
We are in the beginning stages of the
programme, but we have a lot of support
and enthusiasm behind us. Our goal is to
have a starter eet of 5 bicycles available
to the public by mid-December if not
earlier.
We assume you have plenty of
questions, so here are a few answers to
satisfy you...
How will the bikes be
maintained?
Volunteers from the Mechanical
Tempest, Wellington's bicycle collective,
will check and repair the bikes weekly.
What are the bikes like?
We are in the process of creating a eet
of bicycles for the programme. We would
like to provide a range of bikes in order
to cater to people of all shapes, sizes and
skill levels. So far, we have two cruiser
style bikes and a rigid mountain bike.
We will offer a few bikes with rear racks
to make it easy to transport goods. The
bikes will be painted yellow and red so
that they are easily distinguished.
How can I get involved?
We are just starting up, and we need
many things to push the programme
ahead. We are currently asking for
donations of bike lights, helmets and
locks. Donations of spray paint (primer,
yellow, red and clear coat) to transform
more bicycles into Wunderbikes would
also be appreciated. If you have skills
that could be useful, contact us!
Who is Wunderbike?
We are a group of people who
are passionate about bikes and are
volunteering our time for the sake
of potential bikers. You can also be
Wunderbike!
For up to date information on the
progress of the programme, check out
our blog and facebook page:
www.wunderbike.blogspot.co.nz
www.facebook.com/wellingtonwunderbike
Its a Wunderful bike!
by Sylvie Froncek